This is the second in a series of reflections on the Social Messages adopted by the ELCA Church Council over our history. The messages can be found at www.elca.org/socialmessages, and these reflections will be archived at www.montanasynod.org.

In 1989, the ELCA Church Council addressed the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Stating: "Our faith calls us to stand with all who suffer, whatever their religious conviction or cultural identity," the message begins with a confession of how Lutherans have failed the Jewish people in the past. It goes on to critique human rights abuses in Occupied Territories, and ask for prayers for a just and peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The message acknowledges the long roots of the conflict, which involved seemingly mutually exclusive claims to the same land. It lists both the Palestinian and Israeli claims. And it lists the political goals of both Israelis and Palestinians. It states: "We recognize that resolving such a deep and complex conflict will involve lengthy, sustained negotiations. Yet we are encouraged b the spreading recognition that perpetuation of the status quo will be increasingly detrimental to both sides, as well as to world peace"

The message concludes with urging ELCA members to:

1. Familiarize themselves with the history of the Middle East and current issues affecting the conflict so that they can be advocates for responsible political action, and
2. Pray for the coming of God's gift of peace in this area so that Christians, Muslims and Jews might live lives free from violence and fear.
   

I will be travelling in the Holy Lands this week, learning more about the lives of the people there, and praying for peace. I hope that you will join me in prayer.

In the 29 years since this message was adopted, there have been ups and downs in the Middle East peace negotiations. The ELCA has kept abreast of the situation, and has a program called "Peace not Walls," with resources at www.elca.org. Part of the ELCA's witness in the Middle East is to remind the world that there are Christians in the Middle East, Arab Christians, even Lutheran Christians. We have close ties with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Lands.

"We speak because of our faith in God, the bringer of peace. Called to serve this God, the ELCA is constitutionally mandated to participate in God's mission by '...advocating the dignity and justice for all people, working for peace and reconciliation among the nations.'"
 
Jessica Crist, Bishop

Each year, the week of January 18-January 25 is commemorated around the world as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Churches in a different country are tapped to produce ecumenical resources for the world to use. For 2017, it was the churches of Germany who offered the theme and the resources. Noting the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, so central in Germany, the materials focus on both the justification of humanity through grace alone, and the pain of the division of churches.
The theme verse is from 2 Corinthians 5:14: "For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died." Thomas Stubenrauch wrote a hymn for use in the Week of Prayer, and Neville Williamson translated it:

O Lord, for everyone on earth/your Father heart is burning.
Though we think we are nothing worth/you long for our returning.
For each who now from sin released/we celebrate a joyful feast:
The love of Christ compels us!
 
Our night was lightened by the Son,/and through his incarnation
New peace with God for us he won/and reconciliation.
"Come to me," from the cross he cries,/"and with me from the grave arise!"
The love of Christ compels us.
 
Wherever others are in need,/we see in them our Savior
And testify in word and deed,/ serve him with our behavior.
We show that we to Christ belong/and bid them join us in this song:
The love of Christ compels us!
 
Lord, overcome the pain and strife/that our accord once ended.
Renew our hearts with holy life;/let unity be mended-
A witness to the human race/to your great love and saving grace.
The love of Christ compels us!
 
The theme of unity is particularly appropriate this year, not only for churches, but also for our country, as we find ways to live together and move on from the rancor of the election and post-election season. As Christians we are called to seek unity with other Christians. That starts in our own congregations, in our own communities. We may not agree on everything in the political realm, but we are still called to love our neighbors as ourselves, regardless of who they are and what their commitments are.
 
It is my hope that church can be a place where unity has a chance, where it can grow and spread out into the society. The love of Christ compels us.
 
Jessica Crist, Bishop

Our church is well-known for its carefully researched and nuanced policy statements. Over the 29 years of our existence as a church, Churchwide Assemblies have commissioned and adopted 13 Social Statements on major social issues. Producing a Social Statement is a multi-year proposition, with drafts, hearings, rewrites. Ultimately it is a Churchwide Assembly that approves it and places it into our body of Social Statements. You can find all of the ELCA Social Statements at www.elca.org/socialstatements, along with study guides. In addition, you can find my reflections on these Social Statements at  www.montanasynod.org.
                                                   
            In addition to the Social Statements, the ELCA Church Council (the governing body between Churchwide Assemblies) adopts Social Messages from time to time. Social messages are shorter than Social Statements, and are put together more quickly.   The 13 Social Messages adopted by our Church Council began in 1988, with a Message on AIDS. In 2016 the Church Council adopted a Social Message on Gender-Based Violence. Other Messages have addressed:Israeli/Palestinian Conflict; Homelessness; End of Life Decisions; Community Violence; Sexuality; Immigration; Suicide Prevention; Commercial Sexual Exploitation; Terrorism; People Living with Disabilities; Mental Illness. All are available at www.elca.org.
 
            Just as I spent the last half year addressing the Social Statements chronologically, I'll spend this next half year addressing the Social Messages chronologically. They won't be every week, but they will come out several times each month. And they will be archived at www.montanasynod.org.
 
            The ELCA's first Social Message was on "AIDS and the Church's Ministry of Caring." In 1988, AIDS was still a fairly edgy topic. AIDS awareness in the US really began in the 1980's, and in 1988 there was still a stigma around AIDS. The ELCA Church Council, in choosing AIDS as its first Social Message, aimed to lessen the stigma. The Message, which is only a page long, first thanks the people who care for people with AIDS, and urges church members not only to support this ministry, but also to do so with respect and compassion.
 
            The Message suggests that AIDS "calls us to remember our common humanity" and our vulnerability. At the time this was written there were no drugs that could slow down the progress of HIV/AIDS. It was a death sentence. And although it was known how the disease was spread, the Message does not talk about prevention. Rather it suggests that we be informed about AIDS (using a Surgeon General's brochure). And it suggests that congregations include discussion of AIDS in their educational programs. The focus is care for the sick and dying and their families, and education to remove prejudice.
 
            Since 1988, society has come a long way with HIV/AIDS. Educational campaigns to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS, early testing, and medical advances have changed how we look at HIV/AIDS. But AIDS is still devastating communities outside the developed world, particularly in Africa. A whole new class of "AIDS Orphans" is growing up without parents. The ELCA had a project in the early 2000's to raise money for AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa.
 
           A Christian group, promoting compassion and awareness, puts it this way: "The Body of Christ has AIDS." If anyone suffers from AIDS, then we are all accountable. We do not separate into "us" and "them." HIV/AIDS is a global issue. It is a justice issue. It is a compassion issue. It is not partisan. Former President George W. Bush made it a priority to address AIDS across the globe.
 
            HIV/AIDS can be transmitted sexually; it can be transmitted by blood transfusion, by other fluids. It can be transmitted in utero. It does not discriminate by race, gender, sexual orientation, age, lifestyle, income, nationality, geography, climate or political party. In an effort to reduce the stigma and encourage testing, many world leaders have had themselves tested publicly, to encourage others. The ELCA Bishops, myself included, did so several years ago, as a way to be in solidarity with global church leaders. For many years now, December 1 has been World AIDS day. It is a time when we can learn and lament, advocate and celebrate.
           
            The 1988 Social Message on AIDS was simple. And even though the landscape about HIV/AIDS has changed significantly since then, it still has value in its twofold focus: providing care and eliminating prejudice.
 
 
Jessica Crist, Bishop   

"In the long history of Christianity there exists no more tragic development than the treatment accorded the Jewish people on the part of Christian believers."
In 1995, and again in 2015, the Montana Synod entered into an agreement with the Montana Association of Jewish communities, pledging to learn to understand one another better, and to support one another as we seek to be God's people in this world. We pledged to be, among other things, good neighbors.

During the last several weeks, some of our Jewish neighbors have experienced prejudice and intimidation, based on their being Jewish. Whitefish has been a focal point, but targeting of Jews for harassment has taken place in other places as well. This is not acceptable.

Many people have responded with support for the Jewish community. Churches have posted a "Montana Menorah" in their windows during Hanukkah, as a sign of solidarity. Human rights groups have made statements. And city governments have voted to stand against white supremacy and hate.

This is not the first time that Montana has seen anti-Semitism. In the 1990's, someone threw a brick through the window of a Billings home with a Menorah in it, and the community responded with putting pictures of Menorahs in hundreds of windows. The effort was led by Margie MacDonald, director of the Montana Association of Churches, and the ecumenical and interfaith response to "Not in Our Town" was strong. In response, the Montana Synod entered into dialogue with the Montana Association of Jewish Communities and forged an agreement of mutual respect and dialogue.

It was around the same time that the ELCA adopted a Declaration to the Jewish Community, repudiating the anti-Jewish statements of Martin Luther, many of which have been used to justify violence and prejudice, including the Holocaust. As a denomination, and as a Synod, we have gone on record against anti-Semitism in all forms. I encourage congregations to read and study the Montana Synod Agreement and the ELCA Declaration and be in conversation with Jewish neighbors, seeking common goals and working together. One congregation, Bethel Lutheran in Great Falls, has been the home to the local Jewish community for over a decade.

I conclude with a quote from the 1994 ELCA Declaration to the Jewish Community:
"Grieving the complicity of our own tradition within this history of hatred, moreover, we express our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people. We recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us. Finally, we pray for the continued blessing of the Blessed One upon the increasing cooperation and understanding between Lutheran Christians and the Jewish community."

You can find links to:
Agreement between Montana Synod ELCA and MAJCO
Declaration of ELCA to Jewish Community
 
Jessica Crist, Bishop